Organizer Clay Logan and friend just after midnight at a previous year's celebration. The real opossum is in the cage in the foreground. Once all the people left, the possum was fed and released.

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The famous New Year's Eve 'Possum Drop might be back to normal this year under a permit issued by North Carolina on Friday.

The state Wildlife Resources Commission says Clay Logan, owner of Clay's Corner, has permission to capture an opossum, which he plans to lower in a clear plastic box in a parody of the ball drop in Times Square.

He has hosted the event at his country store in Clay County for 20 years. ...